Elected officials routinely thumb their nose at the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law and conduct the public's business behind closed doors because they know the only punishment is a slam on the wrist. A little jail time might get thim to think twice about breaking the law, especially you school board members out there.

Every so often, voters need to be reminded why they don't trust the Democratic Party. The disastrous two years under Obama/Pelosi/Reid have been a real eye-opener.

Columnist Byron York reminds us how Obamacare was passed by a fluke and why Democrats can never be trusted with power again.

From his latest column:

Obamacare is the product of a brief moment of total Democratic dominance in Washington. Key to that dominance was a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority. It wasn't a sure bet for Democrats; despite victories in 2008, the party's hopes for that majority depended on the outcome of a contested race in Minnesota. After a controversial recount, Al Franken became the 60th Democratic senator on July 7, 2009, giving Democrats an unassailable edge.

But that majority disappeared just 49 days later when, on August 25, 2009, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy died. State law called for a special election to fill the empty seat. That would have taken months, and as public opposition to Obamacare grew, Democrats became increasingly anxious to pass the bill as quickly as possible. Luckily for them, Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature came to the rescue, changing the law to allow the immediate appointment of Democrat Paul Kirk. Kirk was sworn in on September 24, 2009, giving Democrats 60 votes once more.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Amazing how much damage Ed Rendell has done to Pennsylvania over the past 8 years. Despite $8 billion in new spending and billions more in borrowing, Rendell failed to solve any of the state's major problems and is hading the mess to Gov.-elect Tom Corbett.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Few Americans would deny that Judeo-Christian beliefs and values informed the Founding of this country and that they continue to shape much of American life today. Nor would many of us deny that Americans who embrace Islamic values are a distinct minority here.

I raise these two facts because of an emerging reality: that, in a variety of contexts, American Muslims are treated better than American Christians. That might seem like a bizarre assertion, so think about it in another way: What if the Christians were treated like Muslims in America, and Muslims like Christians?

Monday, December 27, 2010

Democrats and their big-government allies are always arguing there's nothing to cut from the bloated federal budget.

The folks at Reason magazine beg to differ, offering 14 specific programs or agencies that could be slashed to save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

My favorite:

End (or at Least Audit) the Fed:

The Fed is the biggest bastion of central planning in the American economy, and eliminating it would both move us toward a freer market and remove history’s most powerful enabler of government waste. If that’s politically impossible, auditing the Fed would at least peel away the bank’s veneer of inscrutable wizardry to reveal the feckless dithering at the heart of U.S. monetary policy.

Read the full article, "How to Slash the State: 14 ways to dismantle a monstrous government, one program at a time," here.

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON."115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30. Then for three years, He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth — His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

[Twenty] long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.

— This excerpt is from a sermon by Dr. James Allan Francis in "The Real Jesus and Other Sermons," a collection published in 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia.

There are more Christmas stories on television this year than ever - and not one of them even mentions the fact that Christmas happened because a Child was born. So I decided to write a Christmas story that was actually about Christmas. I hope you enjoy it.

For Unto Us…

The young husband watched his wife with worried eyes. When she caught him looking at her, she always smiled, but he could see the lines of discomfort and exhaustion etched on her face, and his concern continued to grow.

It had been an incredibly difficult journey. Because of her condition, they had needed to make frequent stops and to travel slowly. Now it was nearly dark, and they were among the last to enter the tiny town of Bethlehem. He knew it was going to be nearly impossible to find suitable lodging for them, especially with limited means.

He thought that they might do better if they tried one of the private homes that were taking in boarders. It would be more quiet and perhaps a bit less expensive.

So he walked up to the first door with a sign on it, and knocked. The owner answered quickly, interrupted his question to tell him that they were full and quickly shut the door. He turned around sadly, and caught the briefest glimpse of disappointment in her eyes. It was gone in an instant, replaced with an encouraging smile, but it had been there.

They continued down the street, and when they came to the second door, he straightened his shoulders and knocked. It was like an encore performance. This time, before he turned around to her, he carefully arranged his face to hide his growing anxiety. When he looked at her, he saw that she had done the same thing for him.

He tried every house he could find, with no luck. It became harder to keep knocking in the face of such continuing failure, but he didn’t give up. And every time he looked at her, expecting and dreading to see that look of disappointment again, he found only a consistently caring and supporting smile.

Finally, they came to the town’s inn. They could hear the noise from its courtyard a block away. They couldn’t afford a private room, even if one was available, and he hated the thought of having her spend the night in that raucous courtyard, surrounded by Roman soldiers and caravan workers.

The innkeeper responded to his knock and peered past him to see her sitting on the mule’s back. Her condition was obvious. The innkeeper wanted nothing to do with such a possibility in the courtyard of his establishment. He was polite, but blunt.“There is no room,” he said.

The husband turned away, not having any idea of what he should do next. He was supposed to be taking care of her, and at this moment he didn’t know how.Then a quiet voice at his elbow said, “I know a place. Follow me.”

He turned to see a small woman with intense eyes. She didn’t wait for a response, but turned and started walking up the road leading behind the inn toward the outskirts of the town. The husband took the halter of the mule, and followed.

They came to a small stable. It wasn’t much, but it was out of the night wind. The straw was clean, and the place was well kept. The woman helped him get his wife into a soft bed of straw, and water the mule.

When it became obvious that the baby was coming, the woman disappeared. He thought it would have been nice for his wife if she had stayed to help, but was grateful for what she had done. The baby came quickly, and he found an empty manger to lay the Child in. He was just putting fresh straw into it, when the woman returned with a swaddling blanket.

She handed it to his wife, saying, “I made this for my own child, but it was never used. I would be honored to give it to you.”

His wife accepted the gift with a gentle smile and a hug, and the women wrapped the Baby who would save the world in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. Just as they got Him settled, He opened His eyes and smiled.

And the awful emptiness in the woman’s heart was filled. She wiped away sudden tears, and gave the Baby and His mother a kiss. Then the innkeeper’s wife returned to her noisy inn.

Merry Christmas!

A former Norristown resident, Peg Luksik is a conservative political activist from Johnstown who has run for Pennsylvania governor and for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania.

New Rasmussen Reports polling finds that 87% of Americans celebrate Christmas in their family, and 70% of that group recognize it as a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Christ rather than a secular one. Twenty-seven percent (27%) celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday.

A lot of Top 10 lists are released this time of year. One of the most interesting is the annual AARP list of Top 10 Movies For Grownups, which automatically disqualifies 90 percent of the films Hollywood releases each year.

"The films featured on our Top 10 list provide a daring group of must-see performances for the grownup audience," said Meg Grant, West Coast Editor of AARP The Magazine. "From drama and period-pieces, to family comedies and romance, 50+ actors and filmmakers have provided true entertainment this past year. We are proud to honor and recognize their achievements."

The Top 10 Movies for Grownups of 2010:

Get LowThe King's SpeechSecretariatThe Company MenREDThe Kids are All RightCity IslandCasino JackLetters to JulietAnother Year

Follow the link below to learn more about the films or visit aarp.org/movies to view the slide show of the Top 10 Movies for Grownups® of 2010.

Fascinating analysis by Larrey Anderson at American Thinker about what happens when the man foisted on us by the liberal media as the 'smartest man' in the world turns out to be a fraud when he is elected president of the United States.

One of the most powerful special-interest groups in Harrisburg will reach deeper into its members' pockets, raising anew questions of where this money is going.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, plans to raise annual dues for its 191,000 members by about 11 percent.

Union "expenses" along with the recession and teacher furloughs are among reasons for the PSEA's first dues hike since 1982, says spokesman Wythe Keever.

The "need," if not the timing, is entirely suspicious.

For the PSEA to flourish, aside from forcing members' dues, it must influence legislation that, in turn, secures larger sums of public money for schools and, consequently, the union.

Teachers "should be concerned about how the PSEA is using their dues to lobby -- obviously if the PSEA is using dues to promote issues and candidates they don't support ... ," writes Nathan Benefield of the Commonwealth Foundation.

And the salad days for public school spending, which exploded under Gov. Ed Rendell, could be numbered. Gov.-elect Tom Corbett, a proponent of school choice, puts school results ahead of dollars.

Pennsylvania's public school teachers, forced to pay more, should be concerned -- and smart enough to recognize a shakedown when they see it.

Still looking for that last-minute Christmas gift? Sarah Palin just might the answer.

From a new column by Stuart Schwartz:

When you think about it, Sarah Palin is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only does the mere mention of her name send the cream of the political and media elites into spittle-flecked rage, but a cottage industry has arisen in the collectibles consumer category with Sarah Palin dolls and mementos.

Immigration accounted for three-quarters of population growth during the decade. Census Bureau data found 13.1 million new immigrants (legal and illegal) who arrived in the last 10 years; there were also about 8.2 million births to immigrant women during the decade.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

While members of Congress and the Pennsylvania Legislature are enjoying their annual pay raises, the Berks County commissioners have voted unanimously to freeze their current salaries - and those of other elected county officials -through 2015. That's what you call leading be example.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Governance: It is an anachronism a constitutional amendment tried to kill. It lets defeated legislators wreak political and economic havoc without consequence. Like the dodo, the lame duck should be extinct.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The 2011 PA Leadership Conference, featuring the largest gathering of conservatives in Pennsylvania, has lined up one of the sharpest conservative thinkers in the world for this year's event.

Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and a Fox News commentator, will be the dinner speaker at the 2011 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference to be held April 8-9 at the Radisson Penn Harris Convention Center in Camp Hill, Pa.

From a press release announcing Krauthammer's appearance:

"We are excited to have Dr. Krauthammer as the next in a long series of influential conservative speakers to address the annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference," said Lowman Henry, President of the Pennsylvania Leadership Council which organizes the event. "In an era when many commentators offer only shop worn analysis, Dr. Krauthammer stands out as a thoughtful voice of reason who injects logic and perspective into the public debate."

The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is the premiere annual gathering of public policy conservatives from through the commonwealth and beyond. The conference features well known national speakers, and a who's who of state-level government and policy leaders offering commentary and panel presentations.

Dr. Krauthammer was named by the Financial Times as the most influential commentator in America. Since 1985 he has written a syndicated column for the Washington Post, winning the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1987. His column now appears in more than 250 newspapers worldwide.

A contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and to the New Republic, Dr. Krauthammer is a Fox News contributor appearing nightly on Fox's evening news program Special Report with Bret Baier. He is also a weekly panelist on Inside Washington.

Complete information and registration for the 2011 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference can be found at the conference's newly redesigned website, www.paleadershipconference.org

Friday, December 17, 2010

The secular left continues to downplay the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, which is what Christmas is all about.

From Erin Brown of The Culture and Media Institute:

Two years of Christmas coverage on three networks produced a scant 1.3 percent of stories mentioning the deity. The true message of Christmas, the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, has simply been ignored by the mainstream media.

Why does the far left have to ruin Christmas for the rest of us? Bill O'Reilly has some thoughts.

From his latest column:

Why would any rational person get testy about a federal holiday that brings joy to the majority of their countrymen and helps the economy to boot? As a Christian, I don't mind the winter solstice people doing whatever it is they do. If it involves ice hockey, I might even participate. Why resent the happiness of others especially if no harm is being done? That's not reasonable.

Some liberal people believe that Muslims, Jews and atheists might feel "left out" of the Christmas revelry. Well, I feel left out when folks eat onions because my stomach can't tolerate them. That's just the way it goes. Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and most every other religious group have their own special days, do they not?

Jesus, I believe, would be shocked that his own humble birth has now become an occasion for attack billboards. The Wise Men would also be appalled. King Herod might approve, but he also might have executed the atheists involved just for fun, because that's the kind of guy Herod was.

THORNS to the state Legislature for continuing the practice of automatic cost-of-living adjustments even though many legislators give them back or donate the money to charity. We don't want our tax dollars going to the charity of choice for lawmakers; we want the money to stay in the state coffers. The Legislature, along with members of the executive branch, including the governor, and judges receive an automatic cost-of-living adjustment each year under a 1995 law. This year, the COLA for lawmakers kicked in Dec. 1, while the higher pay for judges begins Jan. 1. Pay for rank-and-file legislators increased from $78,315 to $79,623 on Dec. 1, while higher-ranking officials are paid more. Instead of legislators giving it back, the law should be repealed.

Take a look at the final votes to extend the Bush Tax Cuts - 277-148 in the House and 81-19 in the Senate, with solid Democratic majorities in both chambers. But this only a two-year extension. When more Republicans join Congress in January, let's push for a permanent extension to get the U.S. economy moving again.

Interesting new column by Doug Giles on why men avoid going to church:

Have you ever asked yourself, “Self, why do some churches look more like the bra and panty aisle at Wal-Mart rather than a battalion of men poised to plunder the powers of darkness?”

Certainly, the lack of men in church is not difficult to see. Just go to church on any given Sunday and count the number of ladies in the pews versus the number of men. The result? Well, you’re suddenly slapped in the face with the cheap whiskey-like reality that men are avoiding church like Pelosi avoids reason.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery) released the following statement regarding the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's decision today to revoke the license to Foxwoods Casino in Philadelphia:

"For more than a year, I have called for the revocation of this license. Foxwoods ignored deadlines set by the Gaming Control Board and continually delayed construction. Foxwoods was given preferential treatment for far too long and finally today the Gaming Control Board put an end to it. When Foxwoods was awarded one of the Commonwealth's gaming licenses, it had a responsibility to the people of the Commonwealth to fulfill the requirements set forth by the board to help bring additional property tax relief to the people of Pennsylvania.

"Today's board decision is a step in the right direction in removing the cloud of suspicion that has surrounded this industry since the original gaming law was first enacted in 2004. I fully support the board's decision and hope this signifies a new era for the board in which the people of Pennsylvania are put before special gaming interests."

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Earlier this month, California parents became the first in the nation to use a so-called "parent trigger" to force radical change at a school ranked in the bottom ten percent of elementary schools in the Golden State. Pennsylvania may be next to "pull" the trigger.

In California, 62 percent of parents at McKinley Elementary School – far more than the 51 percent required - signed a petition demanding it be changed to a charter school. Under the law, passed in January, parents may choose from a menu of reforms: converting to a charter school, replacing the principal and staff, reforming the budget, or closing.

Other states may follow in California’s footsteps. In addition to Pennsylvania, legislators in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland plan to introduce versions of the parent trigger in the coming months.

Last year, I introduced two "parent trigger" bills, shortly after the California law passed. One was part of the comprehensive Education Empowerment bill, and one was in a stand-alone bill.

Like California’s new law, my bill would give parents the power to petition for a school closure or change in management when a school is ranked as one of the state's lowest-performing. The legislation would also require the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to publish a web-based State Report Card, identifying those schools scoring in the bottom 5% on state assessment exams.

If the parents of at least 51 percent of the students in a struggling school sign a petition, they can pursue one of three options: 1) school closure and student transfer to another school; 2) school closure and reopening as a charter school; or 3) the execution of a new management agreement with a for-profit or nonprofit organization or another school district. The petition would require action under a strict timeline, with the goal of improving academic achievement and/or student safety. Districts that refuse to honor a valid petition would face severe financial penalties.

Mirroring my bill, the Obama Administration and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have targeted for federal aid those schools that continue to perform in the bottom five percent of the state; do not show signs of improvement; and have graduation rates below 60 percent.

PDE has identified 200 schools in the Commonwealth that are "persistently lowest achieving." Nearly all schools in the Harrisburg School District landed on this "failing" list.

The "parent trigger" reform complements the other two priorities of the Senate Education Committee - school choice and charter school reform - and will be the subject of a public hearing when the Senate reconvenes in January.

Parent report cards and parent petitions present golden opportunities for the Harrisburg School District and other struggling school districts to break the inertia and challenge the status quo. If our schools are failing our kids, parents need to know, and have the tools to fix them.

With the passage of a "parent trigger" in Pennsylvania, a parent revolution can rock the dimly-lit halls of stagnant schools. The old adage still holds true: "When you take a child by the hand, you take a parent by the heart." And if you leave a child behind, parents with heart must be empowered to take matters into their own hands.

State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola is a Republican who represents Pennsylvania's 15th Senate Dist. in parts of Dauphin and York counties. E-mail him at jpiccola@pasen.gov

I was driving on Route 422 earlier today when a man wearing a red Santa hat passed me driving in a convertible. It's bitterly cold in Pennsylvania with wind chills in the teens. Despite the frigid temperatures, the top was down on the convertible, which was loaded with boxes and bags in the passenger seat and back seat, which explains why the driver took the top down. My only guess is that Santa is gathering some last-minute gifts before Dec. 25.

Monday, December 13, 2010

With Sen. Arlen Specter voted out of office and Rep. John Murtha dead, Sen. Bob Casey Jr. is poised to become the new king of pork-barrel spending among Pennsylvania politicians.

According to the website, www.endingspending.com, Sen. Casey has pushed through 336 earmarks totaling $689 million for special interests and political cronies.

An article in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review states Pennsylvania Democratic members of Congress have asked for 985 separate earmarks while Pennsylvania's Republican Congressional delegation has requested 0 earmarks.

From a new column by Lowman S. Henry on the far left's annual assault on the Christmas holiday:

The constitution does not erect a wall of separation between church and state. It does prohibit the "establishment of religion." That clause was born of the framers desire not to have a government sanctioned church such as existed in the mother country, England, from whom they had just won independence.

Further, the constitution does guarantee the "free exercise" of religion. Here is where those seeking to remove Christ from the celebration of Christmas trample the rights of Christian believers. And, while the constitution does prohibit the establishment of a state religion, it does not guarantee anybody the right to be insulated from those engaged in the free exercise of their religious rights.

In a nation where Christians are constantly exhorted to be tolerant of other faiths, with the emphasis most recently on Islam, stifling the celebration of the Christian religion has become acceptable, even encouraged in many quarters. Thus we are subjected to such actions as renaming Christmas trees holiday trees. The fact is a Christmas tree is no more a holiday tree than a Menorah is a holiday candelabra. It has a religious connotation, and in the case of this symbol, a somewhat secularized one. To deny the display of the tree is to deny a constitutional right.

This is Ed Rendell's idea of pension reform. The bill, which was backed by the teachers union, was passed with the support of Rendell and the Democratic majority in the state Legislature.

From The Associated Press:

Structural changes passed last month in Pennsylvania's large pension plans for state government workers and school district employees will still leave taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in new costs in the coming years.

The cost to the state government and school districts will go from $1.25 billion this year to just under $2 billion next year, but the average annual price tag for the coming decade amounts to $5.3 billion.

Congressman Joe Pitts, R-PA-16th, incoming Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, praised today's ruling in Virginia District Court striking down portions of Obamacare. Last week, after the House Republican Conference appointed Congressman Fred Upton (MI-06) Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 112th Congress, Pitts was tapped to chair the Subcommittee next year.

Rep. Pitts' statement:

"It shouldn't come as a surprise that a federal judge has determined that Obamacare's individual mandate to purchase insurance is unconstitutional. Early this year, Republicans warned that the law went too far, trampling on the individual rights protected in the Constitution. Democrats chose to ignore these concerns, and now the courts are working to protect the people from this legislative overreach.

"This certainly isn't the end of court battles, and it only reinforces the need to repeal the law as soon as possible. The many other provisions of Obamacare continue to damage our healthcare system, raising costs and disrupting access to care. I'm working closely with Chairman Upton and Republican leadership on our strategy for wholesale repeal of the law. Both Congress and the courts have a responsibility to uphold the Constitution."

Bank failures continue at a record pace as Obamanomics take its toll. The feds have shut down banks in Michigan and Pennsylvania, bringing the number of U.S. banks that have failed in 2010 to a record 151. Heckavu job, Barack.

He's known as "Fast Eddie" but perhaps a better nickname for Pennsylvania's governor is Ed "Turn 'em Loose" Rendell.

From The Associated Press:

Gov. Ed Rendell will leave office next month having signed more than twice as many pardons as any other Pennsylvania governor. Rendell, a Democrat with about a month left in his second term, has granted 1,059 pardons, according to the state Board of Pardons. His office said 29 more await action on his desk, and he expects to consider 34 others by the end of the year.

A majority of Americans believe they are worse off today than they were two years ago when Barack Obama was elected president on promises of change and hope (which they now realize doesn't put food on the table).

Interesting new poll from Rasmussen Reports about Christmas, especially for the secular left trying to take Christ out of the holiday.

An overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, and for most of those who celebrate, it's a religious holiday rather than a secular one despite the strong commercial overtones of the season.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 92% of all Adults celebrate Christmas in their family. Six percent (6%) do not.

Of those who celebrate the day, nearly two-thirds (65%) regard it as a religious holiday. Twenty-eight percent (28%) say they celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday.

On Dec. 9, 1854, Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" was published in England. The poem memorializes events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854, during the Crimean War. British light cavalry charged over open terrain against heavily-fortified Russian forces.

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Half a league half a league,Half a league onward,All in the valley of DeathRode the six hundred:'Forward, the Light Brigade!Charge for the guns' he said:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'Was there a man dismay'd ?Not tho' the soldier knewSome one had blunder'd:Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do & die,Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon in front of themVolley'd & thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,Into the mouth of HellRode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,Flash'd as they turn'd in airSabring the gunners there,Charging an army whileAll the world wonder'd:Plunged in the battery-smokeRight thro' the line they broke;Cossack & RussianReel'd from the sabre-stroke,Shatter'd & sunder'd.Then they rode back, but notNot the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon behind themVolley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell,While horse & hero fell,They that had fought so wellCame thro' the jaws of Death,Back from the mouth of Hell,All that was left of them,Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?O the wild charge they made!All the world wonder'd.Honour the charge they made!Honour the Light Brigade,Noble six hundred!

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Columnist David Limbaugh has some thoughts on the far left elites who put their faith in Barack Obama only to have those hopes crushed by a typical politician.

From his latest column:

The elites' uniform disenchantment with Obama says much more about them than it does him, namely that they are hopelessly lost in the intoxication of their intellectual elitism and the mire of their crippling worldview and that they didn't have a clue about Obama when they formed their little cult and still don't as they stumble upon, kicking and screaming, his abundant failings.

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Why Politics Matter

“Politics, the crooked timber of our communal lives, dominates everything because, in the end, everything – high and low and, most especially, high – lives or dies by politics. You can have the most advanced and efflorescent of cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away. This is not ancient history. This is Germany 1933.” –– Charles Krauthammer

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About Me

Tony A. Phyrillas is a leading conservative columnist, commentator and blogger based in Pennsylvania.
A veteran newspaperman with 33 years experience as a reporter, editor, photographer and columnist, Phyrillas received a first place award in 2010 for best column from the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors and a first place award in 2007 for Best Opinion Column from Suburban Newspapers of America. He was recognized for column writing in 2007 by the Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Chapter and in 2006 by the SPJ Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
Phyrillas is ranked among the most influential political bloggers in Pennsylvania by BlogNetNews.com.
Odyssey: The World of Greece magazine named Phyrillas one of the leading Greek-American bloggers in the world.
A Penn State University graduate, Phyrillas is the editor/content manager of The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa.
Phyrillas made frequent appearances on talk radio and as a panelist on the "Journalists Roundtable" program on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
He co-hosted a weekly radio program on WPAZ 1370 AM for 2 years.